


The Plot

by DWrites



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Season 7 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-01-07 12:26:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12232815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DWrites/pseuds/DWrites
Summary: Sansa and Arya are together, but will everything go smoothly?





	1. The Talk

“I don’t trust him,” Arya said. Sansa and her were back in the crypts after Arya’s training session with Brienne. They stared up at their father’s statue.

“Littlefinger?” Sansa asked, although she knew very well who Arya was referring to.

Arya glanced at her, “Do you trust him?”

Sansa shook her head. “If I had my way, he would be gone. But he brought the Vale soldiers to help reclaim Winterfell for us. We need his men.”

“They like you,” Arya said. “They’ll be loyal to you.”

“I don’t know. If it comes down to me or Lord Baelish, I have a feeling they’ll choose him.”

The two sisters stood in silence for a bit. Finally, Arya spoke.

“If we want to take him down, we have to be crafty.”

“Perhaps,” Sansa said, “But Littlefinger expects that. He’s wary of you, I can tell. We need to trick him, which will be hard.”

“Everyone has a weakness,” Arya said. She looked at Sansa, “Littlefinger is a proud man. If his plan is going well, he won’t question it.”

“And how are we to know his plan?” Sansa asked her.

Arya looked at her sister, “You have a feeling that you already know it, no? Trust that feeling.”

Sansa stared up at the statue that bore her father’s face. “He’ll try to tear us apart. Together, we’re strong. Too strong for him.”

“We shouldn’t get along. Not in public,” Arya said.

“Not just in public, but also in what we might consider a private setting,” Sansa added. “He has ears everywhere, he’ll know. The only places we can really talk are down here and in the Godswood.” She sighed. “I don’t know we could make it seem real, though.”

“I know,” Arya said. She grinned, “Just act normally, I’ll handle the arguments.” 

Sansa raised her eyebrows.

“I learned many things in the House of Black and White,” Arya replied. She took another long look at the statue in front of them and then proceeded to leave the crypts.

Sansa took one long look at the statue and then turned to follow Arya.


	2. The Discovery

Arya walked through Winterfell, a thousand thoughts racing through her mind. Noticing the council chamber door ajar, she peered in. Two knights of the Vale were talking to Sansa, saying that she should rule instead of Jon. Sansa, of course, insisted that Jon is their rightful ruler.

Secretly, Arya was pleased to see this. However, she knew to take down Littlefinger, they needed to play him.

So, Arya followed Sansa into the bedroom that had once belonged to their parents and said what she knew Littlefinger expected her to say. How Sansa was betraying Jon, and should’ve just killed those knights for disobedience. Arya had also brought up how of course Sansa was staying in this room, because she did like pretty things. It hurt her a little, to see the pain cross Sansa’s face.

After she dismissed Arya, Sansa sat in her chair and took a deep breath. She knew that this was a game, but Arya’s accusations hit a little too close to home. It was a challenge to see her little, annoying sister that she had once known in this grown-up Arya. Arya seemed so different. But so was Sansa. And Sansa knew that they were a pack, and they were together no matter what. Besides, Arya wasn’t the only one who had learned to play games. 

xxx

Arya, meanwhile, was following Littlefinger. She was sneaky, yet she let him catch a glimpse of her ducking away in corridors whenever he turned around. Let him know I’m here, she thought. Let him think he’s the biggest threat here.

Littlefinger was planning something. He definitely wanted Sansa to rule instead of Jon. So, Arya watched him discuss things with the maester and go to hide a piece of paper in his room.

“Now, if I didn’t want anyone to see it, I would burn it,” Arya said to herself. “However, if I wanted someone to find it without realizing that I planted it, I would hide it, but not too well.” Grinning, Arya went over and noisily opened his door. Entering his room, she loudly rummaged around it. She was taunting him in a way, telling him to call the guards on her, make it seem like he doesn’t want her looking at his things.

Eventually she found a note, hidden in his mattress. It was from Sansa, to their family, praising Joffrey and calling their father a traitor. The first reading of the letter gave Arya a bit of shock. She shook her head, and left his chambers, locking the door behind her. As she turned to leave, she thought she saw a dark figure hiding in the hallway.

Good, let him see.


	3. The Letter

Arya had read the letter over and over again. It was from years ago, back when they both were in King’s Landing and their father was in trouble.  
Arya remembered her father’s execution. She remembered how Joffrey had called for his head. But she also remembered Sansa. She remembered how Joffrey said that Sansa asked for mercy for her father. She remembered Sansa screaming when their father was executed. When Yoren had carried her away, she had glanced back and saw Sansa, passed out on the ground. Arya knew Cersei was evil and made Sansa make her father appear to be a traitor. This letter wasn’t as it seemed. And Arya wasn’t stupid, no matter what Littlefinger thought.

xxx

The three trueborn Stark children gathered in the godswood. 

“How did he get that?!” Sansa asked, disgust plain in her voice.

“The maester. More importantly, how did he know it existed?” Arya asked, her eyes blazing.

Sansa closed her eyes and remembered that day. She was sitting in front of Cersei . . . but there were other people in the room as well.

“He was there,” she remembered, opening her eyes. “He promoted the idea of the letter.” Sansa paled, “Do you think he was behind Father’s arrest?”

Sansa and Arya turned to Bran. 

“Bran, you need to tell us everything Littlefinger has done,” Sansa urged him.

And so Bran did. He talked about how Littlefinger convinced their Aunt Lysa to poison Jon Arryn, how he told her to tell Catelyn it was the Lannisters, how he set up the whole feud surrounding the dagger, and how he led Ned Stark to his death.

When he was done, both Arya and Sansa were brimming with anger.

“We need to kill him!” Arya exclaimed, her hand going to Needle.

“We can’t just assassinate him,” Sansa said. “We need a trial.”

“Why?!” Arya looked downright murderous, but Sansa kept her gaze.

“Having a trial where we provide this evidence in front of the Vale soldiers will not only let us fairly execute him, but also turn his soldiers against him,” Sansa said. “We have Bran, who’s now a Three--”

“The” Bran interrupted.

“--the Three-Eyed Raven. We have everything.”

“He’ll try to weasel his way out of it,” Arya pointed out.

Sansa nodded, “He will. We need to take him by surprise.”

“Have a meeting, and then whip out the evidence?” Arya asked.

Sansa shook her head. “No, it’ll be trial. But yours,” she looked at Arya, who looked confused. “He’ll come, of course, if he thinks I’m going to execute you to prevent you from hurting me.”

“How can we convince him of that?” Arya asked. “It’ll take a lot, but if it works...we might just have him.” Arya surveyed her sister, who almost seemed said. “You want him dead, right?”

“I want him unable to harm anyone ever again. And in this case, that means he has to be executed. Of course, if this plan doesn’t work...”

Arya smiled, “Our plan will work. We’ll lure him to my trial, make him think that he’s safe, and then you’ll charge him. The soldiers won’t back him after all he’s done. It just has to be done carefully and can’t be rushed.”

“We’ll have to have harsher arguments,” Sansa said. “And it has to seem like you’ll willingly murder me. He knows I wouldn’t just execute you.”

“He’s proud, remember? Play into that.”

Sansa nodded, “Oh, I will.”


	4. The Feud

Sansa saw Arya on the balcony, staring at the training yard below. Sansa sighed and slowly made her way over to her. She kept repeating how this isn’t real, this was just a game. She survived Cersei Lannister, she could surely have an argument with her sister.   
Their argument this time was about Father’s death. Arya accused her of playing a role. Sansa did not have to pretend to be hurt about this. She shot out some of her own arguments, about how Arya wouldn’t have survived anything that she did.

The two girls stormed off, after Arya told her she prefers to embrace anger over fear.

Anger over fear. The anger at Littlefinger’s past actions had to be greater than the fear of his future manipulations or this would never work. Sansa left in pursuit of Littlefinger.

xxx

Sansa told Petyr about the fight and the letter. She confided in him that she was rather worried about her claim here, which was no lie. And Arya was currently doing nothing to help that. That was when Petyr suggested she talk to Brienne about dealing with Arya.

xxx

No way was Sansa going to get Brienne involved. She wanted Petyr dealt with without harming anyone. She couldn’t risk Brienne getting hurt, and she definitely couldn’t just tell her. No one could know of their plan.

It was rather fortunate that Cersei sent that letter when she did. She needed an envoy from Winterfell to meet. Sansa met with Brienne to send her and Podrick down. Not only will this help keep Brienne out of Petyr’s grasp, but also Brienne had a connection to Jaime Lannister, so she would be safe and effective. Brienne, of course, didn’t want to leave Sansa here with Petyr. But Sansa commanded her to go, telling her she could take care of herself.

xxx

Sansa slowly entered Arya’s quarters. She knew that if she was truly suspicious of her, she would search her room. Upon her searching, she found a leather case with faces.

This time, Sansa was truly freaked out. Arya found her and talked about training as a Faceless Man in Braavos and the lying game. She talked about what they had wanted when they were kids. Arya wanted to be a knight and Sansa wanted to be a queen. However, a small voice in the back of Sansa’s head chimed in and said that that wasn’t quite true. Arya wanted to be everything she could be. And Sansa just wanted a romance from those songs the bards always sang of. 

Then, Arya drew out her dagger and talked about being the Lady of Winterfell. We’re playing the lying game, Sansa repeated to herself. This isn’t real. As Arya got closer, she flipped the dagger over. Sansa took the dagger and Arya left.

It was time.


	5. The Implementation

Sansa met with Petyr one last time. They talked about Arya and how dangerous she is. Petyr advised her to think of Arya’s worst possible motivation. 

“To be Lady of Winterfell,” Sansa replied, telling him what he wanted to here. Petyr smiled, and Sansa knew they had succeeded. Overturning her was treason, and to stop it, there had to be an execution. 

xxx

Sansa had gone up to the battlements to think. It was time, there had to be an execution. She knew it was the right thing to do. Petyr was responsible for pretty much the entire War of the Five Kings. He had to be stopped or he would do more harm.

But that didn’t make it easy. She remembered Father and Robb, who had made difficult decisions before. Sansa took a deep breath and turned to one of the guards and ordered them to bring Arya to the great hall.

The hall was lined with soldiers, both Stark and Arryn men. Sansa hoped they would stand by her. She had evidence against Petyr, and Bran was a valuable asset in this. She looked around the room. Bran was seated next to her, composed and distant as usual. Petyr was off to the side of the room, looking smug. 

Arya walked into the room and the door swung shut behind her. 

“Do you really want to do this?” she asked Sansa.

“It’s what honor demands,” Sansa replied. She cleared her throat and started listing charges against House Stark, including treason and murder. “How do you respond,” Sansa looked away from Arya and to Petyr, “Lord Baelish?”

For the first time ever, Petyr had been thrown off his game. He looked around the room, confused. The soldiers grumbled and an unease spread across the room.

Sansa took the opportunity to address his murder of Lysa Arryn and his use of Lysa in murdering Jon Arryn and starting the conflict between the Starks and the Lannisters. She even directly blamed for the death of Ned Stark.

Petyr denied this, of course. They were only words. But that was when Bran stepped in, recalling the exact words Petyr had said to Ned. Arya chimed in, saying that he lied to their mother about the dagger that was now in her possession.

Pale, Petyr went to Lord Royce and demanded to be taken to safety. Sansa held her breath, hoping that the soldiers would stand by her.

“I think not,” Lord Royce told Petyr, and Sansa exhaled. The soldiers were backing them. It was working.

Petyr turned to her and fell to his knees. He started pleading for his life, claiming love for her mother and for her. But he had betrayed all of them, and was set on ripping their family apart even more.

With a nod, Arya advanced on him and slit his throat with the dagger. Sansa watched, knowing that his manipulations were now over.


End file.
